Tips:

11.18
11.3 Kinderisms
10.29 Graphing and Surveys
10.07 Number Writing
9.22 Homework

November 18, 2012

This week's TIP is about

November 3, 2012

This week's TIP is about Kinderisms you may be wondering about

Have you heard things like "wubble-you", "whoop-dee-doo" and "dah-dah-dah-DUH-dah-dah! The last one!"? Those would be Room 2 Kinderisms.

When my son, Greg, was in kindergarten, I learned about "wubble-you" and "whoop-dee-doo" from his teacher.

She pointed out that many children get confused about the letter W's sound. By calling it a "wubble- you"

for fun, it would help the kids remember the correct sound of W. Brilliant! I've used that strategy ever since!

The same teacher called the lower case "e" a "whoop-dee-doo" because that fits the written formation of the letter!

"Whoop-dee-doo!" is much more fun to say than "across, up and around".

"Dah-dah-dah-DUH-dah-dah! The last one!" is something we say every time we get to the last person's turn or the last of anything! The phrase is said the same way you lead the charge...Dah-dah-dah-DUH-dah-dah....charge!

Let me know if there is another "ism" you'd like me to define for you.

October 29, 2012

This week's TIP is about GRAPHING and SURVEYS.

In Kindergarten we are learning how to

• perform simple data collection and

• read a simple pictograph

To achieve these goals, we do lots of graphing (data collection) and talk about the results (read the pictograph). We graphed the color of apple we brought to school, the apple we liked the best after taste-testing and our favorite color. We also graphed if we thought a pumpkin would sink or float.

We're using words like "least" and "most" and "equal" when we talk about the results.

I will be teaching the kids how to make a very simple T chart and use it to survey their friends.

Here are some typical surveys.

• Do you have a cat or a dog?

• Have you been up in an airplane? Yes or No

• Do you like chocolate milk or white?

Encourage your child to take surveys at home!

October 7, 2012

This week's TIP is about NUMBER WRITING.

We have been singing songs to learn how to write the numbers correctly.

You could have your child practice writing numbers:

• on paper

• on a cookie sheet filled with

  • salt

  • powdered jello

  • shaving cream

  • pudding

• with sidewalk chalk

• with a paint brush and water on

  • a chalkboard

  • the driveway

• on a dry erase board

NUMBER WRITING SONGS

The tune is "Skip To My Lou".

1 Straight line down and that is all,

straight line down and that is all,

straight line down and that is all

to make the number 1.

2 Half way around and slide to the right

3 Half way around and around again

4 Down and slide and cut it in half

5 Down and around and put on his hat

6 Come right down and give it a whirl

7 Slide to the right and come right down

8 Make an "S" and come right home

9 Around and close and come right down

September 22, 2012

This week's TIP is about HOMEWORK.


I don't believe that kindergarten children need to fill in a worksheet for homework everyday. However, there are PLENTY of things you can do with your child to help them practice kindergarten skills in ways that are far less tedious and boring than paper and pencil tasks.

The biggestadvice I can offer you is to keep it FUN, QUICK and PLAYFUL! Many short practices are far better than fewer LONG practice sessions. The best trick is to make it so that your child doesn't even realize they are practicing!

Here's a GREAT article.
Preparing For Kindergarten

And another!
Ten Best Ways to Help Your Child Succeed

At the beginning of the year, I assess each child to see if they can name all of the capital and lower case letters and if they know the sound each letter makes. I also like to see if the children know any words such as Mom, Dad, cat, dog, stop, go, etc.

• Alphabet Letters, Sounds and Words
  • Review alphabet books
  • Talk about the difference between capital and lower case letters
  • Play some letter sounds games (click "cancel" on the authentication pop up window
  • Use magnetic letters to form words and to review letters and sounds
  • Can your child make new words from a chunk such as "at"? cat, mat, pat

• Name Writing
  • Help your child write their name using a capital letter at the beginning and the rest lower case.
  • Kids love to learn how to write the names of the people in their family, too.
  • Ask your child who the Name Game kid was today. See if they remember how to write their name.

• Letter writing
  • Please help reinforce CAPITAL letters only at the beginning of a name.
  • When writing other words such as cat, dog, etc, PLEASE have your child use lower case letters.
  • Here is the letter (and number) formation that we use.

I also assess the children to see if they can count to 20 and beyond, identify the numbers 1-30 presented in random order and if they can write the numbers 1-10.

• Numbers
  • Count, count, count! The teens can be tricky for some kids. Help your child work through the numbers that are tricky for them.
  • Count steps, the number of forks you need for dinner, the number of cars or dolls your child has, the number of coins you have in your wallet...
  • Practice number writing (see letter and number formation link above).

Okay! I think that's more than enough for now. Enjoy working with your child! (Emphasis, obviously, on the word ENJOY!!!)
--Mrs. O